State Department Designates Two Sudanese Men as Terrorists

The U.S. State Department said Tuesday it placed terrorism sanctions on two Sudanese men who killed a U.S. diplomat and a local employee.

Abdelbasit Alhaj Alhassan Haj Hamad and Mohamed Makawi Ibrahim Mohamed attacked John Michael Granville, who was serving with the U.S. Agency for International Development in Khartoum, as well as Adbelrahman Abbas Rahama, a Sudanese USAID employee, the State Department said in a statement.

The attack on Granville and Rahama happened as they were leaving a New Year’s Eve party in 2008, the statement said. Abdelbasit shot Granville and Makawi killed Abbas Rahama during the attack, the satatement said.

Both Abdelbasit and Makawi were convicted of murder and sentenced to death in a Sudanese criminal court in 2009, the statement said. They killed a Sudanese police officer in 2010 and wounded another while escaping from prison.

They remain at large and are believed to be in Somalia, the State Department said.

“This action will help stem the flow of financial and other assistance to these terrorists,” the statement said.

Update: The State Department said separately that it authorized rewards of up to $5 million each for information leading to the capture of Abdelbasit and Makawi.

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